A love letter to Direct File from Taxpayers long live our little free tax filing service

And if you want my full Direct File eulogy, here you go. It’s basically a love letter from taxpayers. ✊❤️

medium.com/@merici/brin...

This is what the end of Direct File looks like in practice.

What fees did you run into? Reply or DM me. 💸💸💸

It’s tax day!

In addition to the loss of truly free tax filing with Direct File, many taxpayers are facing additional fees when filing.

Forced upgrades to save your data. Upsells for state filing. Processing fees to actually pay your bill. I paid a $29.30 fee just to file in Nebraska.

Aww thanks!

What Did We Stop Questioning in Digital Government Delivery? Let’s see what rules we can rewrite and beliefs we can reset: a few digital service sacred cows are long overdue to be put out to pasture.

The problem with sacred cows isn't that they existed – it's that they have taken on new life as facts, even as the world changes around them.

@merici.bsky.social takes on the sacred cows of digital government delivery, and what we can win if we put them out to pasture.
fas.org/publication/...

Hungary Election: Orban falls FURTHER behind in polls after Trump, Vance endorsements Polls released in the wake of the US President and Vice President showing their support for Viktor Orban tell quite the story...

Polls released in the wake of the US President and Vice President showing their support for Viktor Orban tell quite the story...

‼️ NEW Trump tells MS NOW he didn’t know anything about Melania’s statement beforehand

why the IRS killed a free, easy way to file your taxes

Some highlights from the episode:
- Our first user was a single mom who’d been paying $400+ a year just to file
- Direct File had a higher NPS than Apple and Starbucks
- We talked to DOGE several times and thought we had a chance

And, of course, lots of tax memes.

open.spotify.com/episode/2CTn...

It’s tax season and Direct File is dead. I went on the Killswitch podcast with @dexdigi.bsky.social
to talk about what we built, who killed it, and why I’m certain it’ll make a comeback.

Merici Vinton led the team who created Direct File: a free, easy-to-use service that let you file your taxes without being upsold or having your data sent to Facebook. So who wanted it gone? full episode in the profile.

Opinion | Why This Tax Day Is Even Harder and More Annoying Than Usual Tax preparation companies and Republicans are pursuing their shared interest in torturing taxpayers

“This tax season, as you wade through the absurdly expensive and complicated process of filing income taxes, remember to thank the Trump administration” for killing the Direct File program, Binyamin Appelbaum writes.

Opinion | Trump Killed the One Thing That Made Filing Taxes Easier

"Filing taxes should be really easy and completely free. It is in most other developed countries. In 2024, the Biden administration debuted a program called Direct File to make tax filing easy and free for most American taxpayers, too.

President Trump killed it."

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/04/o...

"Filing taxes should be really easy and completely free. It is in most other developed countries. And in 2024, the Biden administration debuted a pilot program called Direct File that could have made tax filing easy and free for most American taxpayers, too.

President Trump killed it."

Opinion | Trump Killed the One Thing That Made Filing Taxes Easier

Trump Killed the One Thing That Made Filing Taxes Easier www.nytimes.com/2026/04/04/o...

Very notable that the pincers have been closing in on Bondi’s subpoena to testify behind closed doors, a real deposition on the Epstein files. Deadline in two weeks. Her role in stalling and covering up ran out of runway and he had to just pull the plug.

Seems to me she can still testify though. 👀

Of course Trump thinks Americans benefit from high gas prices, his administration is filled with them!

Our Julian Scoffield reveals who Trump is referring to in his claim that “when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money."

Trump administration underestimated Iran war’s impact on Strait of Hormuz | CNN Politics The Pentagon and National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to US military strikes while planning the ongoing operation, accord...

"Top Trump officials acknowledged to lawmakers during recent classified briefings that they did not plan for the possibility of Iran closing the strait in response to strikes, according to three sources familiar with the closed-door session."

How is this real life? AYFKM

War without reason or purpose.

Yes that’s a free option that exists. But you’re wrong that it’s an IRS product- it definitely is not. It is an online form, not mobile friendly, only available in English, that is provided by a private tax software alliance.

Democrats to introduce bill aimed at resurrecting IRS Direct File Democrats want to bring back Direct File.

You can kill the product but not the idea - today, 160 Congressional co-sponsors introduced a bill to bring back the IRS’ much beloved free tax filing product, Direct File.

www.theverge.com/policy/88522...

In competitive authoritarianism (US right now) there's often a "loyal opposition" that's essential to the regime. They are so wedded to "decorum," they go along with rites & rituals that help regime prop up veneer of normalcy, undermining clear view of regimes actions & aims.

Wow.

At Yosemite, Rangers Are Scarce and Visitors Have Gone Wild

At Yosemite, Rangers Are Scarce and Visitors Have Gone Wild www.nytimes.com/2026/01/19/u...

Government can build efficiently. Take the IRS free file tool for example. The problem isn't a lack of can-do by the government. It's wealthy companies who have stepped in to block the development of government capacity, and who killed the free file tool when Democrats finally made it a reality.

Health Dept. to Freeze $10 Billion in Funding to 5 Democratic States

“Minnesota, New York, California, Illinois and Colorado will be cut off from around $7 billion in funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides cash assistance to households with children, according to two people familiar with the matter.”

Monstrously cruel.

Although Machado ultimately said she was dedicating the award to Trump, her acceptance of the prize was an “ultimate sin,” said one of the people. “If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” this person said.

WH sources say Venezuela's opposition leader committed the "ultimate sin": She accepted the Nobel Peace prize.

“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

this is your mission. our pedophile president needs you to jump out of a helicopter to kidnap a head of state and his wife so some oil ceos can make a lot of money. we’ll be watching from a resort in florida that still serves wedge salad and checking how many retweets we get. good luck soldier

With Help of Lina Khan, Mamdani Looks to Quickly Cut Costs for New Yorkers

With Help of Lina Khan, Mamdani Looks to Quickly Cut Costs for New Yorkers www.nytimes.com/2025/12/26/n...

My first MozzFest! What a crowd, what an agenda. Nice to be around optimistic leaders speaking truth to power. And, of course, to see @melissaryan.bsky.social

Direct File won’t happen in 2026, IRS tells states The free service that allowed taxpayers to file online directly with the IRS was used by hundreds of thousands of taxpayers in 2024 and 2025, who gave it high marks — although tax prep companies and R...

SCOOP: Direct File is officially dead.

The IRS emailed states yesterday telling them that the free, online tax filing service won't happen next year and has no future launch date.

Republicans and tax prep companies both opposed the service.

www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...